About Us

What We Do

ERTH (Environmental Resource and Technology for Humanity) Products, LLC is a company specializing in the manufacturing and engineering of specialty soils utilizing compost and lightweight aggregates. ERTH Products’ registered trademark product, ERTH Food®, is manufactured just outside Plains, Georgia using the composting technology process pioneered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The aerated static pile composting process is used to mix biosolids with peanut hulls to produce a uniform, stable, premium-quality product recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an Exceptional Quality product. The Exceptional Quality (EQ) designation assures a level of safety and quality not found in many other soil amendments and fertilizers.

ERTH Products, LLC and its environmental partners are proud of their reputation for delivering sound quality products and services that are earth-friendly. We believe through the use of compost we can change the way the world grows–protecting our natural resources and ensuring a sustainable future.

Our Corporate Values

Relationships
We believe that mutually trusting relationships are in our best interests. By creating these relationships we will deliver value in all aspects of our business.

Integrity
We believe our business will endure on a foundation of integrity. We will live up to our agreements and deal honestly with each other. We will develop relationships with those who share these values.

Respect
We respect individuals, communities, and our environment. We recognize the intrinsic worth and contributions of our customers, employees, suppliers, and all of whom are an integral part of our business. We will deal with them and ourselves on a win-win basis, recognizing and expecting mutual accountability and responsibility by all.

ERTH Products Accomplishments

Many of ERTH Products’ major accomplishments have been in the field of product development and marketing. Producing a consistent supply of quality composted products along with a full line of other organic products has been key to the success of the company. ERTH Products has been actively involved in promoting the beneficial use of quality compost. The following are some of the programs that ERTH Products has participated in:

1) Golf Courses – ERTH Products formulated an application using compost as a root zone mix to replace peat in high sand-content golf greens. The tested application met the United States Golf Association’s specifications for a root zone mix and was used to construct new golf greens on several courses in both Georgia and South Carolina. The president of ERTH Products approached the director of the USGA with a request that the USGA work with the USCC to develop precise specifications for compost use on golf greens. The director of the USGA supported this recommendation and the USCC agreed to form a golf course subcommittee for this purpose. The specifications are nearing completion and will be submitted to the USGA for review this year.

2) Architect Specifications – The president of ERTH Products worked with the USCC in the development of the Landscape Architecture/Design Specifications for Compost Use. ERTH Products presented these design specifications at the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. ERTH Products continues to promote the use of compost by briefing the major landscape architects in Georgia on the value of this document as well as the USCC Seal of Testing Assurance Program. ERTH Products has also worked on specifications for additional compost use in lightweight soils, structural soils and golf courses.

3) Erosion Control – ERTH Products worked to promote the use of compost for erosion control in many applications, including use as a filter berm to replace silt fence barriers. The Del Web Sun City Development in Hilton Head, South Carolina was the site of the approved erosion control project. Compost was used to control erosion throughout the development, including areas surrounding the retention ponds, slopes and in place of silt fences. Del Web is one of the top ten developers in the United States.

4) D.O.T. Applications – ERTH Products worked with the state to have specifications written to recognize ERTH Food® as a Nutrient Grade composted fertilizer suitable for D.O.T. use. ERTH Food® has been tested and purchased by the state for numerous projects and uses.

5) Alternative Landfill Cap – The Environmental Protection Division conducted a pilot test of an alternative landfill cap using ERTH Food® at the Marine Corps base in Albany, Georgia. This test was part of the EPA Super-fund Innovative Technology Evaluation Program.

6) University Testing – ERTH Products has participated in numerous growth tests with The University of Georgia, The University of Florida, Auburn University, and Clemson University. ERTH Products’ continuing research program now includes sustainable agricultural testing using organic composted fertilizers on vegetable crops and disease suppression evaluation with both the United States Golf Association and Auburn University.

7) Networks – ERTH Products recognized that Georgia needed an organization focused on the advancement of the composting industry; it was this vision that laid the groundwork for the Georgia Composting Association (GCA). The GCA formed in December of 1998, and Wayne King was nominated to be its first president. During its formation, the GCA noted that many other state organizations operated independently of each other, thereby limiting their access to certain resources and national support. Work began toward developing stronger state affiliations when Wayne approached the US Composting Council to determine what state affiliation options were available to the GCA. ERTH Products is now working through the GCA and its key representatives–the University of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the Georgia Water and Pollution Control Authority and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources–to address the environmental issues facing the state. ERTH Products, the GCA and the USCC are playing major roles in educating Georgia on the “Soil and Water Connection” and the value of compost to the state’s water supply.

Memberships

ERTH Products, LLC. is actively involved in the green industry. ERTH Products’ president, Wayne King, Sr., is a former president of the Georgia Composting Association and a board member of both the Georgia Green Industry Association and past president of the United States Composting Council.

Wayne is a frequent speaker at Georgia Soil and Water Conservation groups, the Georgia Water and Pollution Control Authority, the University of Georgia’s Composting Operators’ Training Course and the BioCycle National Conferences.

Testimonials

Hagins Landscape Nursery, Inc. – Greenville, SC

“I have used ERTH Food® for six years as a soil amendment and as a mulch in annual color beds. With regular use, I have seen an overall improvement in the quality of the soil. Specifically, I have seen better water retention and a reduction in the occurrence of disease.

“ERTH Food® is a great substitute for mulch. It has a good color and texture and does not wash or blow away as do some other mulch products. Far less disease appears in our flowerbeds, which reduces our chemical use and produces more vibrant colors. ERTH Food® is a great product.”

Kathryn Reitz
Hagins Landscape Nursery, Inc.

At Heritage Landscape Services, Inc. – Gilbert, SC

“At Heritage Landscape, Inc., we have been using ERTH Food® for many years and are very pleased with it. It is a product that we can continue to use throughout the growing season to refresh the look of our beds without changing the beds’ appearance. It has a unique consistency in color and texture that continues the flow into other areas of the bed. ERTH Food® makes a perfect blend to the property, while it gives a fresh look without causing too much contrast. It never fails that, while we are planting our beds, a passer-by will stop to ask what we are mulching our beds with. They comment on how good it looks and ask for the name of a local place where they too can purchase ERTH Food®.

“We find, however, that ERTH Food® provides more than just aesthetics to our beds. It gives our beds a good barrier against weeds, and we’ve found that it also creates a moisture barrier that allows moisture to stay in the ground longer than any other mulch we have tried. At the end of a growing season, we will pull the old flowers and till the existing ERTH Food® into the soil; this provides an excellent source of organic matter that most of our beds need because of either the high clay or sand composite. The bags are an easy-to-handle size, which makes transportation to the beds easy. ERTH Food® is a great product for anyone wanting to achieve that extra-professional look for their beds, and it is ideal for flower bed enhancement.”

John Bettis
Heritage Landscape, Inc.

Riverbanks Zoo & Botanical Garden – Columbia, SC

“At Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden, we have been using ERTH Food® for a number of years. While many people use it as a soil conditioner, we use it as a mulch for our beds. We must get hundreds of questions about ERTH Food® every year; people are intrigued about the peanut shells.

“One thing that is important to me when purchasing mulch is to ensure that it is weed-free. We’ve never had a problem with weedy ERTH Food®. ERTH Food® is a unique and useful product, and, most of all, it looks great as a mulch.”

About

ERTH Products, L.L.C. specializes in organic waste recovery, compost manufacturing, sales and marketing
of mulch and soil products and in the engineering of specialty soils for storm water management, water
conservation and sustainable building projects.